Review – Shogun

Yes, this is a mini-series rather than a movie. Plot-wise, however, it plays like a motion picture except for an extra long running time that apparently required every scene to drag on for at least twice its natural length. And as is typical with Hollywood productions about foreign cultures, we are called upon to experience medieval Japanese society through Western eyes. Richard Chamberlain stars as an English sailor cast up on the shores of Japan in the middle of an extended feudal feud. Our hero must learn the ropes – not to mention the language – in order to keep his head on his shoulders and later pursue the complicated affections of his beautiful translator. I watched this decades ago when it was originally broadcast, and at the time I thought it was pretty cool. But now Toshiro Mifune’s presence as Lord Toronaga serves as a poignant reminder of just how deeply inferior this tale is to the movies Mifune and Akira Kurosawa made about the same time and place. This series isn’t bad, but it fares poorly when compared to movies with better cinematography, more action and a less Euro-centric perspective. Mildly amusing